Mexican-American mezzo-soprano, Sarah Saturnino, is quickly becoming known for her versatility and “range of vocal colors” (Miami Herald). A winner of the 2023 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals, her recent roles include: Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia with LA Opera, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Carmen in The Tragedy of Carmen with Shreveport Opera, Vera Boronel in The Consul with Baltimore Concert Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto with Opera San Antonio, Mutter in Hänsel und Gretel and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte with Yale Opera. Miss Saturnino is a current member of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera, where she made her mainstage debut in the role of Emilia in Otello and sang Jocabed in Mollicone’s Moses.
Miss Saturnino is a former Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera, where she covered Carmen in Carmen, and Meg Page in Falstaff. During the 2021 summer season with Santa Fe Opera, she covered the roles of Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is an alumna of The Chautauqua Opera Company’s Young Artist program where she covered Paquette in Candide and sang Komponist from Ariadne auf Naxos in their Apprentice Scenes Program. Miss Saturnino has performed with the Miami Summer Music Festival as Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon and was a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Wintergreen Performing Arts Festival, as well as multiple concerts in Tuscany, Italy with Bel Canto in Tuscany.
Miss Saturnino received the Donald & Luke Graham Memorial Award (2022) and the Campbell/Wachter Scholarship Award (2021) from the Santa Fe Opera. She received the Faculty Award from the Vann Vocal Institute in 2020. She won first place at the Pacific NorthWest Competition in Eugene, Oregon in 2019. She has placed in the top ten in the Brava! Competition two years (2018/2019) in a row and was a Grand Finalist in the Talents of the World Competition in 2018. She has also received awards from the Laffont Competition, San Diego District.
Her concert works include Verdi’s Requiem with The Bakersfield Symphony, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with LA Chamber Orchestra. Other works include Handel’s Let God Arise, and O sing unto the Lord, and Messiah. She has also sung in recitals for the Trinity on Wall Street: Pipes at One Series and The Chautauqua Opera Company’s Emerging Artists Recital. She has sung Bernstein’s Candide in concert as The Old Lady with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.
Miss Saturnino graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts: Vocal Performance and a Music Industry Minor in 2016. She graduated with honors from the Yale University School of Music with a Masters of Music in 2018.
In spring of 2023 she will be making her house debut with Amarillo Opera as Maddalena in their production of Rigoletto. Miss Saturnino is a choreographer, fight director and intimacy director. Her work includes Feel the Tango, Speed Dating, and Le Nozze di Figaro for Shreveport Opera. She was the fight captain for Carmen while at the Santa Fe Opera. She works with Sordelet Inc. as a Fight and Intimacy Director. She is also trained in fencing.
